140 people sleep rough in Dublin every night

AN average of 140 people sleep rough on the streets of Dublin every night, a new survey will reveal.

The homeless were counted on one night in March by surveyors working for the Government-appointed Homeless Agency.

It was the first time such a count had been carried out.

The agency’s Mary Higgins said a national assessment of the homeless, yet to be published, would show little impact had been made on the 1999 national figure of 4,000, 2,900 in Dublin.

The figures were “scarily similar”, Ms Higgins told a conference in Dublin Castle yesterday to discuss homelessness and drug misuse.

She said the Government strategy to tackle the problem, launched in 2000, was the most likely to succeed.

There was a vision to eliminate homelessness by 2010, she said, but some volunteers were questioning the validity of the figures, both for rough sleepers and overall homeless.

A source working with the homeless claimed the best policy was one that would guarantee a drop in reported figures: “The homeless agency and the Government are obsessed with counting numbers, as opposed to delivering services.”

The conference was organised by drug user support group Merchant’s Quay and also heard about the rising number of homeless people who were addicts.

Tony Geoghegan, the group’s director of services, said the number was increasing every year: “There are now thought to be more than 15,000 heroin users across the country.”

“During the recent election campaign, one could be forgiven for concluding that such problems did not exist in Ireland. It is dispiriting to see that the new minister for justice appears to feel that investing in policing and in prisons will reduce drug-related problems. Such measures have failed to make any impact on the numbers using drugs in Ireland.

“The Government will get better value for money and make a positive difference to lives, by investing in disadvantaged communities and in policies proven to minimise harm associated with homelessness and drug use.”

Sean Cassin, a member of the National Drugs Strategy team, warned the Government not to cut back on its commitment and funding for the strategy: “The National Drugs Strategy is saving money, saving lives, make sure you save it.”

There were also calls to examine drug consumption rooms, while Ethan Nadelmann, director of the US-based Drug Policy Foundation, led an attack on the “failed war on drugs” and called for more progressive and innovative approaches to the problem.